Bucs outlast Golden Bears 35-24

HENDERSONVILLE — Mt. Juliet led Beech after three quarters, but couldn't hold on down the stretch as the host Buccaneers scored twice in the final quarter to knock off the Bears 35-24 in a District 9-AAA game Friday night.

Beech, the defending Class 5A state champion, remained unbeaten in the district at 5-2, 4-0. Mt. Juliet fell to 3-4, 2-2.

"It was a typical Beech-Mt. Juliet game," Golden Bear coach Trey Perry said. "It came down to a couple of possessions."

The Golden Bears took a 24-21 lead entering the fourth quarter when Kyle Mahler scored on a 9-yard touchdown run. At the point, it appeared certainly possible they would hold on for the upset.

Beech, however, took the lead on Kourtney Hawkins' 7-yard touchdown run after the Bucs converted a fake punt on fourth-and-20. Beech then got the clincher on a 9-yard score by Dorian Carter.

It was Carter's third touchdown run of the night. The senior finished with 33 rushes for 184 yards.

"We really had a lot of momentum if we could have gotten the ball back," Perry said.

Ben Cheatham got the Bears on the board first, scoring on a 6-yard run.

Carter answered Cheatham with two touchdowns of his own. He had a 9-yard touchdown run to tie the game and added a 5-yard run to give the Bucs a 14-7 run.

Kyle Smith, who led Mt. Juliet with 142 rushing yards on only 12 carries, had a 12-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14.

Garrett Zickgraf's 32-yard field goal put the Golden Bears up 17-14 at the half. Mt. Juliet rushed for some 220 yards in the first 24 minutes.

"Our offense continues to improve from week to week," Perry said. "We had some big plays, but we did a good job moving the sticks on some key drives and that was encouraging to see."

After Parker Henry's touchdown run gave Beech the lead, 21-17, Mahler answered for the Golden Bears, who otherwise ran only three offensive plays for much of the second half until late. It would be the Mt. Juliet's last lead of the night.

"There were key penalties on us and some not called that you would not like to see happen in a game between two rival teams fighting hard against each other," Perry said.

The Golden Bears will play host to Hendersonville at 7 p.m. next Friday.